Movie tip: "The Master"

Published October 04. 2012 12:01AM

Movie critics are insane. Insane! They raved about this film. I found it pretentious and tiresome. Let me put it this way: If you didn't like writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's previous film, "There Will Be Blood," you probably won't like his "Master," either. This drama likewise focuses tightly on a weirdly complex, love-hate relationship between two odd, unlikable men. Both films look stunning, built on carefully composed shots. "The Master" is lucky to have an Oscar-worthy performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman as the charismatic leader of a religion ... or a cult, depending on your point of view. (Scientology inspired parts of "The Master.") Joaquin Phoenix makes like Crispin Glover 2.0 - meaning goes loco - as a drunk and lost soul who falls under Hoffman's spell.